My 30th Birthday Surprises

As most of you all know, I turned 30 last month...September 17th, to be exact. It was a pretty uneventful birthday filled with yummy chocolate cake, a heap of Facebook greetings, and a whopper of a migraine. I was feeling a bit better by evening, so Adam took the kids into town to pick up some take-out Fultano's Pizza (my request). The kids gave me a camera strap slipcover that I LOVE, and Adam said that his gift to me was on it's way via USPS. As usual, I had told him not to get me anything big, and I was perfectly happy to spend a quiet evening at home with my family. The next day was going to be busy, as I was helping out at Tonya and Chris's wedding! So, really, celebrating my birthday was not number one on my priority list.

Camera strap cover (an Etsy.com find)

Little did I know...Adam had a few surprises in store.

The next week I was looking forward to getting a phone call from my dear friend and former roommate Sarah. I hadn't talked to her in ages (at least a YEAR), and she had just gotten engaged and I wanted to hear all the details. She called. We talked. Then, the subject of getting together came up. For over a year now, my roommates and I have been trying to find a weekend to spend together, and it just hasn't happened. In August we were seriously considering September, and as September started coming to an end, I decided "enough is enough!" Sarah suggested the first weekend in October would be good and I told her I would ask Natalie. Mandy, our non-roommate friend wasn't going to be able to make it because another of our college friends was getting married.

That evening, I got a message from Nattie saying that she could make it. I was stoked!! I was texting both Sarah and Nat at the same time getting all the details worked out. I knew that Adam would be fine with it, but I finally asked..."hey honey, is it OK if I have some friends over for the first weekend in October?" Strangely, he responded..."what friends?" Long, sad story short, Adam had already asked them to come for that weekend for a birthday surprise! I was still VERY surprised and VERY touched that Adam would go to such lengths to make my birthday special. I couldn't believe I had unintentionally ruined it...I mean, really...I talk to Sarah once a year!!


The next weekend (September 25th-26th), we got in our car accident. We didn't go to church that Sunday because...well, we didn't feel up to it. Sunday evening my family showed up with pizza, salad, and cake. I thought they were there to cheer us up from the accident, but instead they were there because Adam had asked them to a few weeks prior. Because my birthday weekend was full of wedding and headache, he wanted to give me a surprise mini-party!

Adam was kinda bummed that my gift hadn't arrived in the mail yet. It actually got sent registered mail and was delivered to the post office. I picked it up the next week. Unfortunately, it was packaged in a bag sent from Great Britain and I could totally guess what it was. I was impressed he remembered the hint I gave him a few months prior! I couldn't wait to open it, as it was still going to be a surprise because I didn't know what design he picked. When he finally came home from work I ripped it open to find he'd picked one I loved! He bought me a Golla DSLR camera bag with a design only available overseas. I love it, love it, LOVE it! Super sturdy, durable, well-made, comfortable, and stylish. It's even got a zipper wallet compartment in the front so I can use it as my purse for travel! Plus, the inside is PINK!

Later that week we all got a bad cold. Mom had wanted to take me shopping for some new jeans for my birthday and we were having a hard time finding a day to do it. That Friday, though I was feeling miserable, was the only day that seemed to work. So, when Mom got off work, we packed up the kids and headed to Tanasbourne. We actually had a really nice time. Surprisingly enough, I found some pants that fit (among other things)! We ate at the Macaroni Grill and headed home late. Funny story...we got "accidentally" pulled over on the way home by the same cop that handled our car accident the weekend prior. I think he was a little embarrassed that he pulled over the wrong car. Still, the flashing blue and red was enough to get us worked up for the rest of the ride home.

The next day my roomies were coming! Adam had to go out of town to take care of some things, so the kids and I were left without a vehicle. We had the Montero, but because we forfeited Soren's car seat in the accident we couldn't take the kids (the boosters don't work in the Montero). Sarah and Nattie arrived around noon and the kids were in our faces for the rest of the day. They love guests and always want to be the center of attention...so, they were. I was bummed that Adam didn't come home earlier...and we didn't get to leave the house to have dinner till almost 7:00. Because it was late, the girls and I opted to not take the long drive into town, and instead have dinner at "The Logger." They found it quaint, to say the least...not to mention, it was homecoming night and all the kids were gussied up for a nice dinner at, none other than..."The Logger!" *sigh* The girls now want to make it a tradition...lol!

Me, Nattie, Sarah

We arrived back home to find an empty house. Part of the birthday surprise that I didn't know about was that Adam planned to take the kids and spend the night at my parents house. It was nice to stay up late and not have to worry about waking the kids with our laughter. We had a blast! Truly...it was just like old times.

In conclusion, my 30th birthday was flat-out awesome! Thanks to everyone, especially my sweetheart, for making this milestone a celebration to remember fondly.

Frustration

Technology is moving too fast for my budget.

I just spent the last 45 minutes trying to download pictures and videos onto my hard drive from my camera. Yes, I did finally succeed (sort of)...but 45 minutes is too long! I love that my new camera takes better video than my actual video camera, but my computer doesn't. I only have a 1 gig memory card, but have been looking forward to getting a larger one so that I can take more video. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that idea will be "compatible" with my elderly computer. Most of my trouble in downloading came when I tried downloading a 2 minute video. TWO. MINUTE. VIDEO. My computer didn't like that so well and timed-out during my first two tries. I actually had to restart my computer because it was staying frozen for too long in "thought." I went to view it when the computer finally accepted it. First of all, the video was only compatible to QuickTime....lame. Secondly, the video didn't download properly and was all jumbled, choppy, and the timing was off. Ugh...the whole situation makes me a little sick to my stomach.

There's really nothing I can do to improve the video, and I don't know how to make it compatible with other media players. Until I get a new computer I'm going to have to download videos onto my parent's computer and save to CD or DVD. Who knows....even if the videos did work on my computer, I wouldn't be able to burn them to CD because they might be too large. My computer doesn't even have a DVD burner.

Another thing I'm a little frustrated about...
I've been doing a little bit of research on photo-editing software. I'm interested in a particular program, but the the customer reviews have been discouraging. I've read quite a few, and I've come across a large handful that say that the installation caused their "older" computers to crash. As my Grandma would say...."scratch that."

Still...I love my new camera, and I'm so thankful to have it :)

"Your Images are NOT Being Uploaded to Blogger"

For the last half hour I've been staring at the phrase "your images are being uploaded to Blogger." I knew that this would be an issue when downloading photos from my new camera. I love to blog, but a good portion of my time is taken up by photo uploads. Even with my point and shoot set to to the very low 1-2 megapixel setting, it still takes a good 5 minutes to upload 5 photos. My new camera is a 15.0 megapixel camera, and as much as I would love to take 15.0 megapixel pictures, it's just not practical. For one, my computer hard drive would fill up alarmingly fast, and two, I would NEVER blog with pictures. Currently, I have my camera set to 8 megs which, in my opinion, is very high quality. Still, each photo size ranges from 3.5-4.5 MB (my point and shoot boasts mere 800 KB file sizes) and uploading is horrendous!! Of course, I could reduce the file sizes, but that also takes time...time I don't have. It's also tedious, and I've been known to accidentally ruin photos by doing so.

Lately, I've noticed that by the time I get my pictures up, I'm just about out of my "allotted" time so I rush through the actual blogging. I suppose this equally frustrates me, as I would like to put more thought into what I have to say. I'm tired of the "yesterday we went to so-and-so's and it was fun...the end." BOR-ing! I suppose you're tired of it too? No, Mom, I'm not talking about you.

Anyway, I have lots of photos to share from the last week or so, but I'm just too tired of waiting for my antiquated computer with it's Pentium 4 processor from 2003...*GASP*!! Maybe I'll have more patience tomorrow? Until then, I'll be dreaming of Core processors and uploading medium-quality 30-second movies in less than 20 minutes! Wouldn't that be a feat?!! The sad thing is, I'm not being sarcastic.

Another Week

I realize that I skipped a week in blogging...but the week before last was way too full and complicated to write down, so I'm just gonna skip it altogether. Last week was non-stop as well...


Monday, the kids went to swimming lessons (every day of the week, actually) and afterwards I planned to go just a couple of parking lots over to drop some MK over to my Aunt who works at Park Medical. As I was showering the kids after lessons, I noticed something black stuck in Synnove's hair. I thought it was a piece of fuzz and pulled on it and she said, "ouch!" I tugged a bit more, thinking it was a dark scab that was hanging by a small bit of skin, but upon further investigation, I discovered it had legs! It was a tick! I had never seen a tick before, but knew that if it wasn't removed properly, it could cause infection. So, instead of seeing Aunt Jeanne at Park's, I went to Urgent Care and Park's. Apparently it was still alive, and the doctor removed it without leaving anything behind. Yes, I could have removed it myself...but I just didn't want to risk doing something wrong. I didn't know how long it was there...it could have been there for a couple of days! I had just gotten back from Creation and Adam wouldn't have noticed it because he doesn't "do" hair. The only reason I saw it is because her hair was half up and I could see something black when I sprayed her head in a certain place.

Anyway, we saw Aunt Jeanne after that, then headed home, then came back into town. I had an appointment with a gal in Astoria, and the kids were gonna spend some time with Grandpa while he painted the house. When I got back, the kids were headed to Costco with Weesie and Grandma. We didn't get home till after bedtime.

On Tuesday, after swimming, I headed over to my parent's house to help my dad paint. I stayed there all afternoon and, again, got home after bedtime. That night I opened my camera for the FIRST time since it arrived on the Friday prior. I was SO excited to get my camera...but had NO time to even open the box till Tuesday!

One of the first pictures I took on my new camera on Tues.

On Wednesday, after swimming, I met a gal at the coffee shop for a little MK consult. Then, I went all the way back home to wait for UPS so that I could make a large delivery for a party I had the week prior. Then, I headed back to town to deliver the order, and afterwards, went back to my parent's to help my dad paint again. Dad was on his way out, so the kids and I were there by ourselves. After about 20 minutes my Grandma Barb showed up and we visited while I painted the house on the deck. She left, I finished the part of the house that sits above the deck, we ate dinner, we got home sometime after bedtime.

That night I stayed up passed midnight finishing the invitations for my friend Tonya's bridal shower...they turned out pretty cute.

Thursday we went swimming, did a MK delivery, then headed to Cassie's so that the kids could play. We stayed all afternoon! It was great fun! On the way home, though exhausted, I decided I needed to go to Safeway. Our fridge has been utterly neglected, and has been virtually empty for almost two weeks. That NEVER happens! But, I honestly haven't had the time to go to the store! Anyway, I stopped at Safeway and started to put the kids in the cart. I put Soren in the seat and put Synnove in the basket part. Synnove then decided to whine and throw a fit about not being in the seat. I told her if she continued to whine, then we would have to leave without getting dinner for Daddy. She continued to whine. We left the store. I was too exhausted to care and I don't remember what we even had for dinner...waffles maybe??

Jena and JR have a bouncy house at their house...SO fun!!

Friday was the last day for swimming lessons for that session. Synnove is still in the smallest class (has been to at least 6 or 7 two-week sessions) and will stay there till she puts her face in the water. Soren is in the class above her (has been to 3 two-week sessions) and is starting to learn the basics. I don't think I'll be putting the kids in lessons for the rest of summer. Synnove isn't progressing, and it costs me too much time and money. I think I'll continue Soren's lessons in the fall when Synnove is in school. We'll see.


After lessons I went to the coffee shop to get stamps from Elise for Tonya's bridal shower invitations and mailed them off. Then, I headed back home to meet Tonya and Faith for a playdate. My kids are so blessed to have so many little friends, and I'm so blessed to be friends with all their little friends' mommies!! It makes me almost wonder that if I didn't have kids...would I have as many friends??? Probably not!

Saturday we woke late, made a big breakfast, and got in the car to go to Seattle for the day. Adam's Aunt Chris got married last month, and they were hosting an open house. We don't ever get up to Seattle to see Adam's extended family, so it was a good excuse to go. Adam got to see people he hasn't seen in years, and I got to finally meet some of his extended family (that I hadn't met before). The kids enjoyed running around and playing with Alice and Cash. The drive home was a loooong one. I think we walked through our front door sometime around 12:30 AM.

Chris's husband Ed is a part of a "Mini" club. Here's 3 of the 4 that were parked by our car...

Sunday was meant to be a relaxing "don't have to go anywhere or do anything" kind of day...but it didn't end up that way. After going to church, we drove home to get Synnove fed and changed to go over to Grace's house for the afternoon. Our fridge was still empty and because fair was (is) going to start the next week (this week) I didn't know if a trip to the grocery store was (is) going to happen. SO, I sorta planned to make the trip to Longview to go to WinCo. But, I changed my mind. Sunday was the last day to enter in the fair, and I kinda wanted to enter some photos. I didn't really have any good ones from the year, but I had a couple in mind. I spent the next 2 hours fiddling on the computer and fighting with my printer. I finally gave up and took what I printed to the fairgrounds. Soren decided that splitting wood with daddy was boring, so he came with me.

Of course, when we got to the fairgrounds, I ran into half of my family and and handful of friends and chatted it up a bit. Then, I headed to Fred Meyer to get some semi-expensive groceries. And, of course, I ran into more family and friends. I stayed and the store way longer than planned and didn't get over to pick Synnove up till around 7:00. Once and Grace's house, I ended up chatting with Eddie and Rena (Grace's parents) for over an hour. Yes, over half of my daily existence is TALK!

I ended the week with a massive bowl of Tillamook's "Grandma's Cake Batter" ice cream (the LAST one at the store!!) YUMMY!!

SO Excited!

A couple of things...

One:
It's been a loooong time coming and I'm finally getting a new dryer! I bought my dryer well-used back in 2001 from a gal that went to my home church. I think I paid like $100 for both the washer and dryer. They weren't a matched set and the washer, thankfully, went out back in 2005. It was an off-brand washer that had to be babysat so that it wouldn't overfill. My dryer has been making a high pitched whine for at least 3 years now, and almost died back when we moved here two years ago...but, for some reason, it decided to work for two more years. In the last couple of weeks the sounds coming from the laundry room have gone from annoying to absolutely unavoidable! I think the rollers are broken. And, instead of fixing it, we opted to get a new one because it often leaves rust marks on clean clothes. No, I'm not getting a fancy one or anything, but the one I just ordered actually has adjustable heat settings!

Two:
I JUST ORDERED MY FANCY CAMERA!!!!! I wasn't planning on getting it until the fall, but for our anniversary last week, Adam told me that I just needed to go buy it. I had already saved almost half of the money needed from my MK business, and the rest would come out of all the spare change I could find between the couch cushions...lol! I did a bunch of research and knew that I would get one of two models...either the Nikon D5000 or the Canon Rebel T1i. Both were very comparable and similar in price. Most everyone that I've talked to about DSLRs who actually have a DSLR have a Nikon (older models or higher models) and like them a lot. So, I thought I was leaning towards the Nikon. It took a while for me to weigh the pros and cons of each camera because each camera excelled in different things. It was a headache...mostly because I know so little about photography! In the end, the Canon stood out for me. Unfortunately, I don't have the extra cash to get the additional lens I want to get...but that will come in time. Thanks for the splurge honey!!! I CAN'T WAIT TILL IT ARRIVES!!!

Looks Like I Need a New Camera

Sorry for my lack of posts this month. I'm having a hard time finding a moment to get on the computer these days...it's only going to get worse with summer fast approaching. Still, 3 measly posts for the month is just not acceptable! I wish I had some fabulous pictures or a wonderful story to tell, but the month is just jumbled in my head. I find myself asking..."what on earth did we do this month?" Well, we did a lot....but I don't have much to show for it.

The weather this month has been quite confusing. Typical for spring, I suppose...but there were a couple of days near the beginning of the month that were just plain crazy. Freezing temperatures and massive amounts of hail...


At the end of March, Stephanie and Wesley welcomed Brielle Grace(I think that's how you spell it) to the world...3 weeks early! We ran into them at Elise's coffee shop one day, and Tayanah got to show off "her baby."

I had the pleasure of traveling to good ol' GFU to see Henry compete in the Mr. Bruin competition on the 16th. No, he didn't win, but it was a great night of hilarity and fun!

Adam has been spending much of his spare time down in the shop working on his Montero. In fact, he's playing with Bondo and sanding equipment as I type. He hopes to have it all painted by the time we go camping Memorial weekend. I hope he gets it done soon because Adam driving the F250 to work every day is costing us! He's got most of the interior all painted and put back together, and he's been switching parts from rig to rig. I'm looking forward to seeing it done. I think it'll look nice. Anyway, the kids spend a lot of time hanging out in the shop with their daddy. Fortunately, Adam doesn't seem to mind TOO much. They've got a large TV down there where they watch movies. They've been finding all kinds of things to do down there, including setting up Adam's old tent, and creating "shop creatures" with the glue gun. The kids picked out the materials and Adam put them together. They're pretty creative, if you ask me =)

Last weekend Elise, Adam, and I went to the annual "Crab, Seafood, and Wine Festival" at the fairgrounds. I hadn't been since high school...back when it was more fun for kids. I couldn't believe the amount of people that were there! We parked in Astoria and took the shuttle there because there wasn't enough parking at the fairgrounds. We met up with Chris and Tonya and shoved our way through the crowds. It was fun running into old friends.

Now, if you haven't noticed, nearly every one of these pictures is just plain awful. Even the ones from previous posts are cloudy, fuzzy, blurry, etc. My camera has been experiencing a variety of malfunctions recently and I can't even get it to take a picture half the time. It is my dream to one day purchase a fancy camera and learn how to take fabulous pictures...but budget and time are a couple of serious obstacles I have to overcome first. Until then, I'm going to be shopping for another pocket-sized automatic flasheroo type....preferably one that takes regular batteries. Suggestions???